It snowed today. As I was walking down the sidewalk, a 20-something young girl was walking towards me. I saw what I thought was a pile of snow on her head – not the kind that may have accumulated as she was walking down the street, but an actual pile, more or less like a half a snowball on top of her head. I thought to myself, “Surely this is a bow or a pom-pom on a hat.” But, no. It wasn’t – it was a pile of snow. And I doubt that she was unaware that it was there. (If so, she may have tilted her head a bit and some of it would have spilled.) So, yeah – I saw what I thought I saw. But, after all, this IS Kreuzberg!!

I CAN HARDLY WAIT!

Apparently our German bank is offering something to be excited about! Unisex rates for financial planning! Wonder what it IS? [Sometimes the automated translation leaves something to be desired. For example, the word for ATM is ‘Geldautomat’ and sometimes the automated translator yields something like ‘Money car mat’ – Geld = Money; Auto = Car; and, well, Mat just has to manage for itself, without the ‘help’ of the translator!] [Later: Determined that these ‘unisex’ rates are for life insurance, which actually seems to benefit MEN! Because women live longer than men (and therefore would be paying premiums longer than men), it would seem that women should have LOWER rates, wouldn’t it? So, in this case, making ‘women equal to men’ is actually a disadvantage for women. Why am I not surprised?]

INCREDULITY!

If the word ‘incredulity’ in Webster’s were accompanied by a photograph, it would have to be of the look on Ms. Electra’s face recently. We typically give the cats snacks throughout the day, but William, the Wonder Cat, has been showing signs of getting a bit chunky, so we thought we’d try reducing the size of their portions. The first time I tried it, I swear, Electra stared at her bowl for 5 solid seconds (time it – it’s actually a loooong time!), then looked up at me, then back at the bowl, then back at me for 5 seconds, and only then did she deign to eat the meager portion I had set before her. She was, indeed, totally incredulous!

And here we have Electra, in all her incredulity (and her perpetually dirty ears, because, not only does she just have waxy ears, but her brother refuses to groom her, despite her fervent efforts to groom him)!

HOW’S THAT AGAIN?

We went to a Christmas Market at Potsdamer Platz, which also has a huge shopping arcade. Wisely, the shops are open late, as are the public restrooms in the arcade – lots of folks drinking lots of beer and Glühwein. And there was even a special restroom attendant to direct traffic. She, of course, was facing the incoming traffic and pointing to the appropriate restroom. That would have been sufficient. But she also decided to enhance her services by saying ‘Rechts’ (right) or ‘Links’ (left). And, naturally enough, she was saying ‘Rechts’ or ‘Links’ based on HER right and left, rather than the right and left of the incoming traffic. So, when I SEE her pointing to MY left but SAYING ‘right’, I stand there for a moment, a bit perplexed. I’m sure she’s wondering why all these folks seem to have a problem with her simple, explicit directions!

GRANDDAUGHTERS

My soon-to-be-5-year-old granddaughter has managed to memorize the dialogue between the Queen and her mirror in Snow White. Having demonstrated this achievement, she wanted to act it out, where, she (of course!) would be Snow White and I would play all the other parts. When it came time for the Prince to kiss her, I gave her a big pretend kiss (as she shuns real kisses from anyone other than her mother). Then she demanded a SECOND kiss! I’m afraid to even begin to imagine what this portends for her future relationships.

Speaking of granddaughters, the blog’s resident artist, Evie Fullingim, has yet another cartoon offering from her granddaughter, Maddie Johnson. In all fairness to William, however, this is one thing that he doesn’t do that much. [I’m almost afraid to say that, as he might start doing it before I even finish typing this!] He actually USES the scratching mat we got for him – his one concession to otherwise fervently executing his mission to destroy our flat and everything in it.